Chapter 565: Reverse

The crimson-black demonic flames approached him. Behind him, a vast, seemingly boundless sea of fire stretched out. Yun Che stepped forward, casually swinging the Heaven Smiting Sword. The moment the sword danced, the surging air current it generated was like raging waves on a tempestuous sea, and the explosive roar was deafening, like thunder.

*Rip!* The space twisted violently, and a sound like tearing cloth erupted. The overwhelming flames were effortlessly sliced open, creating a vast vacuum of fire. Yun Che moved his foot, charging directly into the sea of flames. His heavy sword danced like a dragon in the ocean. Wherever the Heaven Smiting Devil Slayer Sword went, the terrifying crimson-black demonic flames were blasted open, deflected, and shattered. Surges of heavy sword storms raged wildly through the sea of fire. In just a few breaths, the once-overwhelming inferno was blasted into scattered fragments.

"Wh-what?!" Prince Huiye was aghast. His hands trembled as he swiftly raised the Obsidian Devil Sword. Three Flame Devils roared in unison, lunging straight at Yun Che.

"Phoenix... Wing... Heaven... Vault!" A phoenix shadow flashed, and a phoenix cry pierced the air. Yun Che transformed into a raging phoenix, soaring towards the three Flame Devils.

Though it was the same Phoenix Wing Heaven Vault, in his previous unarmed state, he had only managed to push back one Flame Devil! But this time, the Phoenix Wing Heaven Vault was unleashed by his heavy sword! The immense pressure at that instant caused a momentary, complete silence to fall over the Demon Imperial Hall.

*Boom!* The phoenix shadow crashed into the first Flame Devil. With a roar, the phoenix shadow pierced straight through it, leaving behind a shower of scattered Flame Devil fragments. *Boom!* The second Flame Devil was also pierced through. *Boom!* The third Flame Devil was instantly sent flying, smashing violently into the ceiling of the hall. The entire hall shook violently, and the Flame Devil exploded, showering down large fragments of crimson-black flames.

In the blink of an eye, like a flash of light, all three Flame Devils were annihilated. Even so, the power of Phoenix Wing Heaven Vault was not entirely expended. It continued, imbued with the phoenix's might, shooting straight towards Prince Huiye, whose eyes were wide with terror and bulging. It struck him fiercely in the chest.

*Boom!* Prince Huiye's protective profound energy was instantly shattered by the Heaven Smiting Devil Slayer Sword. The last vestiges of the Phoenix Wing Heaven Vault's power slammed into Prince Huiye. As the phoenix flames flared and roared, Prince Huiye was sent flying far away, like a kicked ball, screaming as he went.

Yun Che looked up in the direction Prince Huiye had flown. When he struck his chest just now, he clearly felt his power being greatly obstructed. It seemed Prince Huiye was wearing a profound armor with extremely strong defenses. The Phoenix Wing Heaven Vault, weakened by the three Flame Devils' obstruction, had not managed to inflict severe injury on him.

"Hmph!" Yun Che curled his lip, a cruel sneer appearing on his face. Against someone who sought to kill him, he would certainly not allow them to be defeated so comfortably.

Yun Che's figure flickered. Using Phantom Lightning Flash combined with Star God Broken Shadow, he instantly appeared above the still-recoiling Prince Huiye. He raised the Heaven Smiting Devil Slayer Sword, a wolf shadow flashing behind him, phoenix flames blazing on the sword's body. He brought the sword down.

"Phoenix Sky Wolf Slash!" The Sky Wolf shadow, trailing phoenix flames like a long phoenix tail, tore through the air and plunged down. Amidst a piercing shriek, the Sky Wolf shadow and phoenix flames rapidly merged, transforming into a burning, enraged Sky Wolf that mercilessly slammed towards Prince Huiye.

The Phoenix Sky Wolf Slash... was a derivative technique that integrated phoenix flame power into the first sword of the Sky Wolf! It was also a masterpiece Yun Che had only completed fifteen days earlier.

"Stop!" With three Flame Devils destroyed in an instant, and Prince Huiye sent flying by a single sword, Prince Huai was utterly shocked. Seeing Yun Che's move now, he sprang up in alarm, his right arm erupting in flames. But before the flames could strike Yun Che, a figure flickered in front of him, and a ball of deep purple lightning shot towards his face, forcing him to flip backward and leap far away.

"Prince Huai, do you intend to violate the rules of the competition?!" Yun Qinghong stood before Prince Huai, speaking coldly. The words he uttered were identical to those Prince Huai had spoken earlier.

With Yun Qinghong's obstruction, Prince Huai had no time to save Prince Huiye. With a thunderous boom, the burning Sky Wolf shadow heavily struck Prince Huiye's body.

*BOOM!!!!* "Wuaaaaaahhh..." A tremendous scream, almost overpowering the roar of profound energy, echoed like the wailing of a demon. Under the destructive power of extreme might, Prince Huiye's protective profound armor lasted only an instant before shattering like fragile glass. Prince Huiye's body, like a meteorite falling from the sky, instantly slammed into the ground with a piercing whistle, then bounced high up. When he landed again, he was already outside the competition arena. The dozen or so clusters of phoenix flames still clinging to him did not extinguish; instead, they burned brighter, turning him into a man ablaze in a flash.

Around him, fragments of the profound armor lay scattered on the ground.

"Your Highness Huiye!" People from the East Seats rushed forward in a panic. Several young disciples quickly released profound energy, attempting to extinguish the flames on Prince Huiye's body. But phoenix flames were not so easily put out. Their palms screamed in pain from the scorching heat when they touched the phoenix fire. They fumbled for a long time but couldn't extinguish even a bit of the flames.

"Get back!" Prince Huai descended from above, striking Prince Huiye's chest with a palm. Under his immensely dense profound energy, the flames on Prince Huiye's body quickly receded like an ebbing tide. By the time the phoenix flames were completely extinguished, nearly a third of Prince Huiye's body was charred black, his hair and eyebrows completely burnt away, and his countless wounds were mostly deep enough to expose bone. These were only external injuries. What truly enraged Prince Huai was that at least thirty percent of Huiye's meridians were severed, and at least half of his bones were broken. Even with the vast resources of Prince Huai's manor, it would take several months for him to fully recover.

Prince Huiye's profound armor, which he always wore, was gone, leaving only faint traces of its profound energy scattered around. Prince Huai was keenly aware of the armor's resilience, and he knew even more clearly that if Huiye hadn't been protected by it, that last sword strike would have utterly crippled him, if not killed him.

"What a pity," Yun Che whispered regretfully, letting out a rough breath. "That guy was actually wearing an extraordinary life-saving talisman. Otherwise, he would have been at least half-crippled."

Inside the hall, almost everyone had unconsciously risen to their feet. Each person stared blankly, silent for a long time, as if all sound had been completely drawn from the world.

Destroying three Flame Devils in an instant, then severely wounding Prince Huiye with another sword—the outcome, which had seemed destined, was completely reversed in just a few breaths after the vermilion heavy sword appeared. It was an upheaval no one could have ever dreamed of.

Prince Huiye lay on the ground, his face half-charred black, half-pale as paper. Though severely wounded, he was not unconscious. His eyes were open, but his pupils were extremely dilated, as if his soul had been shocked and battered out of his body.

The reactions of the people from Prince Huai's manor and those from the East Seats were largely similar. They simply couldn't believe their eyes. When Huiye had revealed the Obsidian Devil Sword, they were certain Yun Che would either surrender or die, yet they never imagined such an outcome.

Yun Qinghong's face was also filled with astonishment. After a good while, he came to his senses, but he couldn't describe the turmoil in his mind at that moment. He looked at the Yun family's seats, and as expected, from disciples to elders, all wore dazed expressions. Even the three Grand Elders—Yun Jiang, Yun He, and Yun Xi—had risen from their seats and hadn't sat down for a long time.

Yun Qinghong smiled. For a moment, he could hardly believe that this young man, who had repeatedly shocked the entire arena and terrified the world's heroes, was his own biological son. His previous worries and his intervention had been entirely unnecessary. Recalling Yun Che's earlier certainty and the firmness in his eyes, he nodded gently, muttering to himself, "Che'er, what *is* your true limit...?"

Without his heavy sword, Yun Che had been suppressed by Prince Huiye. But the moment the heavy sword appeared, Prince Huiye was instantly and disastrously defeated, severely wounded. For a profound practitioner, training with a weapon is essential, and having their preferred weapon in hand naturally boosts their strength. However, the extent of this boost isn't usually too exaggerated. A Profound Sovereign at the fifth level, even bare-handed, can easily defeat a Profound Sovereign at the fourth level who wields a weapon.

But Yun Che was completely different. The gap between Yun Che without his heavy sword and Yun Che wielding his heavy sword was not merely a difference in strength... it was almost a difference in *plane*! Yun Che, armed with the Dragon Fault, could defeat Prince Huiye, let alone the Heaven Smiting Devil Slayer Sword, whose power far surpassed the Dragon Fault.

However, wielding the Heaven Smiting Devil Slayer Sword consumed far more energy than controlling the Dragon Fault. As he inflicted severe injury upon Prince Huiye, Yun Che's breathing noticeably grew heavy.

"Father, who... who exactly is he?" Su Zhizhan asked in astonishment. The brief scene from just moments ago had profoundly shocked his soul and overturned his understanding.

Su Xiangnan shook his head, a little dazed, and said, "Your father wants to know that answer even more than you do." Thinking of Yun Qinghong's earlier forceful intervention, he continued, "I'm afraid even Yun Qinghong doesn't know that his true strength is this formidable!"

Yun Che was undoubtedly the first person to repeatedly make these peerless experts from various parts of the Illusory Demon Realm experience such shock and disbelief. The awe he generated with his Sky Profound Realm profound cultivation caused immense waves in the hearts of these supreme practitioners, especially the scene where he severely wounded Prince Huiye, which impacted them more than anything before.

"Who's next?!" The vermilion heavy sword was stuck diagonally in the ground. Yun Che leaned on the sword with one hand, his forehead beaded with sweat, yet his voice still thundered with every word. By this point, no one dared to underestimate or mock him. All eyes were fixed firmly on him; even the Little Demon Empress, seated on her throne, became a mere background figure beneath his dazzling radiance.

For the first time, Prince Huai gnashed his teeth because of a young man. Prince Huiye's severe injuries were secondary; his confidence, dignity, and arrogance had been utterly shattered by Yun Che. After today, if Yun Che remained alive, he would surely become renowned throughout the Illusory Demon Realm, while his son, the Prince, would become nothing more than a stepping stone for Yun Che's fame!

This person must die... Prince Huai turned his head, giving Prince Zhong a fierce glare. Prince Zhong's face had long since turned grim. He lowered his head and secretly sent a telepathic message to his son, Prince Yuanque: "Yun Che has revealed his exhaustion. It's clear that wielding that sword consumes an enormous amount of energy, and he shouldn't have much power left. Spare no effort or means... kill him!"